While each implementation has unique goals and intricacies, here are some common themes we see on a regular basis.

Expectation #1: A CMS should solve the most urgent business problem at hand without regard to specific department, person or function.

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Since 2010 is off and running, I thought I would post some thoughts on what the Content Management industry would have in store in terms of WCM improvements and features in 2010.

1. Social support: social marketing continues to be a hot topic and proven to be a successful medium. You will see more support and integration features from WCM vendors.
2. Integration with CRM: effective web sites should drive qualified traffic. If this is so integration with a company’s CRM is key to keeping sales cycles moving along swiftly. WCM systems will be integrating with Salesforce.com out of the box to offer this closed loop process.
3. Multilingual: the world is getting smaller and businesses the size of Fortune 500 and SMBs are expanding globally. Multi-lingual websites are a must to developing business on a global scale and your WCM solution should make this process smoother.
4. Mobile: mobile websites are becoming more prevalent. WCM’s will have to ensure support for publishing content to a mobile version and integrations with mobile marketing companies are a must to ensure marketing content is pushed out.
5. Record management: more clients are looking for WCM’s to handle retention and record management for important documents. Better records management is key to handle this expectation.

These are my thoughts, let’s see what happens!

In just about every web content management implementation one of the overarching goals is to reduce dependence on corporate I.T. Of course everyone loves I.T.,but we all know they are very busy and sometimes place the web as a lower priority item.

The onus is on marketing (generally the owner of website redesign and content management initiatives) to ensure an on time and on budget WCM implementation. So the key is how much support from IT is needed to ensure success. Here are a few recommendations:

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It seems like just about every company both large and small, b2c, b2b and the like are evaluating a new content management system or in the beginning stages of implementing one.

CMS success, which way will you go...

Either way it is not too late to ensure success. I continue to see many organizations make a lot of the same mistakes during a CMS implementation. If you are in the throes of evaluating a new CMS, avoid these common missteps to ensure your content management implementation is successful.

1. Make certain the software provides intrinsic value. Don’t purchase CMS on cost alone. Not all CMS are created equal!

2. Have the requirements from all stakeholder groups been accounted for? One of the critical issues that sink CMS investments in the organization is missing all necessary input and buy-in.

3. Trying to solve too much from the very beginning and be all things to all people is a recipe for disaster. In order to be successful, work in manageable phases. Don’t be afraid to upset the apple cart and prioritize.

4. How strong is the user documentation and training? Pay more for training – it is always well worth it.

5. Develop clear cut financial and non financial performance metrics. This is key in measuring success.

6. Don’t become operational too soon – are you sure the application is ready for prime time?

7. Content, content, content. Don’t just migrate all legacy content to your new system. Take time to talk to customers,  and review your analytics reports to see the most important content. Use a new CMS implementation to reduce content to the most essential. Experience shows you can make the average website at least 40% leaner through this exercise.

Think about these when evaluating a CMS and be sure to achieve better results.

We recently participated on a panel at an excellent MITX event focused on getting relevant website content to your audiences.  I think we could have spent the entire day on the topic and the speakers were very knowledgeable and passionate which always makes for a good seminar.

I hoped the audience would be able to take away a tangible list of action items and at least a starting point for thinking about content personalization.  So I thought I would jot those down here for everyone.  While some folks may be well beyond the basics, I still believe these principals work for everyone.

1) Define your audience segments (understand what their intent is and what message/interaction works best).

2) Create content, imagery, messaging, branding (i.e., overall user experience) per segment.  Don’t get too granular to begin with as your website is a marathon not a sprint.  If you start too granular, you have significant risk of missing the target completely.

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Content Re-use through CMS

In a world that has gone mad with overused terms such as re-use, green and recycle (not that those are bad things) I will attempt to make a case for content re-use that seems to be alluding companies both large and small.

For the past 12 years I have worked with numerous companies to help them develop more effective web strategies utilizing technologies like content management, portals and ecommerce. And to this day I find it both fascinating and somewhat sad to continue to see more and more companies siloed in their website and intranet approaches.

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